Constitutional Court Rules Political Parties Ignoring 30% Female Quota Will Be Disqualified
The Constitutional Court (MK) has taken a progressive step to safeguard female representation in parliament. Political parties that deliberately ignore the mandatory 30% female quota in candidates for the House of Representatives (DPR) and regional legislatures (DPRD) will face immediate disqualification in the relevant electoral districts.
The ruling, contained in Case No. 128/PUU-XXIV/2026 concerning the constitutional review of the 2017 Election Law, was delivered by MK Chief Suhartoyo during a plenary session at the MK building in Jakarta on Monday (25 May).
In the ruling, the MK stated that if the 30% female representation requirement is not met, the General Election Commission (KPU) at all levels must disqualify the political party from the election in the relevant electoral district.
“If the 30% female representation requirement is not fulfilled, the General Election Commission (KPU), provincial KPU, and regency/city KPU must disqualify or exclude the political party from participating in the election in the respective electoral district,” said MK Chief Suhartoyo.
STRICT SANCTIONS FOR CONSTITUTIONAL COMPLIANCE
The court determined that the absence of strict penalties in Article 245 of the Election Law has allowed political parties to neglect women’s political rights.
Constitutional Justice Adies Kadir emphasised that strict penalties are necessary to realise the spirit of Article 28H (2) of the 1945 Constitution, rather than merely being a formality on paper.
Political parties must be closely monitored by the KPU from the registration stage, through the preparation of provisional candidate lists (DCS), to the final candidate lists (DCT).
“Political parties failing to meet the 30% female representation quota must face strict penalties,” said Adies Kadir.
Adies added that the KPU must not compromise at any stage of the candidate nomination process.
“Political parties failing to meet the 30% female representation quota must have their participation struck off or disqualified by the KPU at all levels,” said Adies.
Historically, the MK referenced the 2024 legislative election dispute in Gorontalo (Electoral District 6), where a political party failed to meet the female quota.
At that time, the MK ordered a revote (PSU) and gave parties a chance to correct their candidate lists. However, moving forward, if parties continue to fail to meet the requirement, election organisers must immediately disqualify them in the relevant district.
NEW RULES
In addition to stricter penalties, the MK introduced a new interpretation on quota calculation methodology. It ruled that if the percentage calculation results in a fraction, it must be rounded up to ensure women’s representation rights are not eroded.
Constitutional Justice Guntur Hamzah cited an example where a calculation yielding 3.1 or 3.3 would require rounding up to four female candidates instead of three.
“If the 30% quota calculation results in a fractional number, election organisers must round up,” said Guntur Hamzah.
He stressed that female representation must not be negotiated below the minimum threshold.
“Female legislative candidates must not fall below 30% of the total candidates in any electoral district,” said Guntur.
The MK deemed rounding up as a constitutionally valid affirmative action. This step is urgent given that female representation in the DPR and DPRD has never reached the ideal 30%, despite women comprising nearly half the population.
This ruling establishes the quota policy and disqualification sanctions as a strong constitutional instrument to address gender disparities and strengthen women’s role in legislative decision-making.